Ken Hitchcock has a talented team, with a deep crop of forwards augmented by Russian rookie RW Vladimir Tarasenko and the defence anchored by Norris Trophy candidate Alex Pietrangelo. Provided at least one of Jaroslav Halak or Brian Elliott can get the job done in goal, the Blues could be ready for the next step.

Also a note is that the Blues are the highest ranked team in the West.

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St. Louis Blues (49-22-11)Something happened to these guys late last season and into the playoffs, and nobody still seems quite sure what it was. After looking like a Cup contender, they just kind of wilted, despite getting into the second round. A good question will be how they respond to what figures to be a very amped up coach Ken Hitchcock. There is too much strong, young talent on hand to predict that they will underachieve. I don't know if we'll see another Jacques Plante-type of season again from goalie Brian Elliott, but the Blues will be tough to score on again, and forwards such as David Backes and T.J. Oshie are a handful.

Edmonton Oilers (32-40-10)Check with me in a month or two, but it says here that they will get off to a great start -- which really ups the odds of getting into the playoffs. Why the reason for Oil optimism? Because Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and newcomer D-man Justin Schultz all played regularly during the lockout in the AHL and will be that much further along than the players who were limited to informal skates or shinny matches for charity. Eberle had 51 points in 34 games for Oklahoma City, while Schultz had 48 in 34. Granted, big questions remain in goal and defense, but what an offense this should be.

I'm not understanding Edmonton at #3. For that matter, I'm not understanding Pittsburgh at #1 either. #1 and #2 respectively should be the Blues and the Rangers flip and flop in whichever order you prefer. If both teams can keep their cores intact for the next few years I guarantee there'll be a meeting in the finals sooner than later. Two very similar teams, solid goaltending, excelling at defense, and a sampling of guys who theoretically can and should score goals.

In some aspects, the shortened season will be more difficult than a stretched out 82 gamer. The injury bug hits and something small becomes something big, something big becomes something huge. Staying healthy is the most important thing for this team right now. Especially on D.

I don't really care about these I just hope our players don't read them and start believing them because it won't be long until we are #1 or 2.

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